On the eve of the Budget, the UK government announced it would consider issuing very long term bonds known as ‘perpetuals’ (50 to 100 years duration), in order to take advantage of historically low rates of interest . This would … Continue reading →

The Year of Dangerously is a film directed by Peter Weir with Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver in the starring roles. It is set in Indonesia on the eve of the attempted coup against the government of President Sukarno in … Continue reading →

As the population of the United Kingdom (and particularly London) gears up for the next Olympiad, the Jeremiah question is whether the infrastructure projects associated with it will generate lasting socio-economic benefits. The related question is why so many large … Continue reading →

The historian Mark Mazower’s excellent book The Dark Continent: Europe’s Twentieth Century chronicles how the objective of building a better society from the ruins of the First World War was swept away by division and bloodshed on an unprecedented scale. … Continue reading →

Teaching is a noble profession but given the damaged reputation of economics, following the financial crisis and the world economy teetering in the brink of another Great Depression, should there continue be a Nobel Prize for Economics? Strictly speaking, there … Continue reading →

The end of the London Metals Exchange (LME) Week during which the great and good of the mining and metals industries, as well as related financial institutions, met up to discuss the issues that affect this global sector marked an … Continue reading →

The recent arrest of the trader at the Swiss bank UBS for alleged illegal trading has highlighted the role of corruption in contemporary business. It could be argued that as the economy has become more globalised, the reverse take-over of … Continue reading →

As the Greek tragedy of the eurozone crisis plays out with Angela Merkel as Electra and Nicholas Sarkozy as Orestes in pursuit of revenge for the death of Agemenon (you can choose which object or subject is appropriate in the … Continue reading →

The 10th anniversary of the attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center has stimulated commentary and debates in different forms of media. The causes and consequences of the attack are subject to controversy and conspiracy, based on … Continue reading →

The Irish and the Germans like and can hold a tune. As Brian Cowan plays Danny Boy to Angela Merkel’s Lilly Marlene, the Beatles’s song “With a Little Help from our Friends”, in which a verse refers to singing out … Continue reading →